A: It’s based on a work created in the 1980s by Gotye’s artist father, Frank de Backer, and represents a couple’s relationship. Once the woman (singer Kimbra) ends the romance, the paint dis­appears from her body. Gotye is up for two MTV Video Music Awards (Sept. 6, 8 p.m. ET).

The host of The O’Reilly Factor, 62, will publish Lincoln’s Last Days (a children’s version of his best seller Killing Lincoln) on Aug. 21.

You used to be a history teacher. Were you popular?I was like the original Mr. Kotter. I was tough but fair and funny. It was a great couple of years. Do you have any election predictions? If Obama does win, it’s going to be very close. You either believe he has a handle on the economy or you don’t.

What TV show is on your must-watch list?I watch Rizzoli & Isles with my [13-year-old] daughter. I think she’s going to be a detective! Do you talk politics with your kids? They have to watch the morning news while they’re eating their breakfast, so instead of dopey cartoons, we watch the news and then talk about it. Who is your dream guest?The only person I haven’t spoken to that I would like to is the Pope. I’ve been real lucky for 16 years. We’ve been able to get everybody in, but I would like to speak to the Pope. That would be interesting.

As The Closer comes to an end, the actress, 60, stars in the spin-off Major Crimes (TNT, Aug. 13, 10 p.m. ET).

Will your show pick up where The Closer leaves off?"Absolutely! It has its own style, but we’re still going after the bad guys."

It must be bittersweet not working with Kyra Sedgwick anymore."We had wonderful chemistry and trust. It’s great when you’re working with a woman and you’re both not afraid to oppose each other or find the common ground."

Do you have a favorite memory from filming Dances With Wolves?"The first day on set, the sun came up over the prairie and the tepees lit up. I felt transported to another time and place. It was magic."

The 22-year-old singer makes her big-screen debut in Sparkle (Aug. 17), which costars the late Whitney Houston.

What was Whitney Houston like on set?She was very motherly and nurturing. She could have just gone back to her trailer, but she loved to chill with us. I was devastated to lose her.

No woman has won American Idol since your 2007 win. Why?I don’t know! The past few winners have been pretty similar: guys who play guitar. I need the girls to step it up next season!

How do you spend your free time?I like to spend time with my family, playing card games and making root beer floats. I’m an old soul.

Your dad played for the New York Giants. Are you a football fan?I’m obsessed. I joined my grandpa’s fantasy football league last year, and it was so fun to talk stats with him. I get super into it!Online Extra: What dance move did Jordin teach Whitney? "Her fans know that she’s always been real and sweet and down-to-earth. When you meet somebody that you’ve grown up listening to, you kind of expect that they’re just going to come and do their thing and leave, but she loved to sit with us, and she was open to new things — we even taught her how to Dougie! Whitney was the person you wanted to be friends with. She was sweet, she was outgoing, she was funny, she was quick-witted, and that’s something her fans would love to know," Sparks says.

The actor, 56, talks about the fifth season of Breaking Bad (AMC, Sundays, 10 p.m. ET) and his big-screen role in Total Recall, which hits theaters Aug. 3.

Breaking Bad ends next year. Will it be tough to say goodbye?It will. It’s been the role of my life. I doubt that I will tackle a character this complex and profound ever again. I’ll miss the family that we’ve created.

Can fans expect a movie?I’ve heard rumors, but I have no clue if any of the characters are going to be alive to make a movie! I think we have to wait until after the dust settles next year and see if it’s even feasible.

You play the villain in the Total Recall remake. How does it compare to the original?The original, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, was so much kitschy fun. This one is going to be a little more serious, and the special effects have greatly improved over the last 20 years. Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter?Albert Brooks’s little quips always make me smile. I like to follow people who tweet something more meaningful than “I just had a great cheese sandwich!”

See the Top 5 Celebrity Tweets of the Week:

jimmy fallon ‏@jimmyfallon Once in Little League I literally struck out on one pitch...I swung at it three times. #NotAnOlympian Conan O'Brien ‏@ConanOBrien It’s reported that Kim Jong-un got married. He’s registered at the local, “Bed, Bath and Other Things They Don’t Have in North Korea.”

Rainn Wilson ‏@rainnwilson Downton Abbey drinking game: Every time someone eavesdrops, do a shot of Burgandy that's been poured through a napkin.